


Mr Box

by bi_ceratops



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Badass Katara (Avatar), Bending (Avatar), Birthday, Birthday Party, F/M, Fluff, Humor, M/M, pakku is homophobic but Katara kicks his ass, suki and mai flirt if you squint, suki/mai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:21:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26200315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bi_ceratops/pseuds/bi_ceratops
Summary: Katara's birthday is not going to plan. Between missing necklaces, a racist step grandfather, burnt food, and a missing boyfriend, she's had enough. Maybe the talking box on the balcony can lift her spirits?(I suck at descriptions).
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 141





	Mr Box

**Author's Note:**

> TW for light homophobia from Paku, but it does not go over well. Hope you enjoy :)

Katara was mad. 

It was her birthday. Usually she'd be happy. Usually she absolutely loved her birthday. It was the one day she'd have her whole family together. Gran Gran, Dad, Sokka, Toph, Iroh, Zuko, Haru, Suki, Mai, Ty Lee, Appa, Momo, Bumi, and most importantly, Aang. Usually Gran Gran would cook seal jerky and they'd have a traditional water tribe meal, before Katara would be given her presents and they would drink cactus juice (diluted) and play Pai Sho and other games until the early hours of the morning. It sounded like a dream, even if every year she and Sokka and Toph and Zuko got over competitive in their respective teams and ended up making a mess, and somehow Mai would end up on a team with Bumi and they would win charades, despite Mai barely moving and literally every clue Bumi gave was three obscure references away from the actual answer.

This year, however, hadn't even come close to that plan. Katara was turning 24. It had been just under a decade since she'd met Aang, and she'd wanted nothing more than to spend her birthday with him, but he'd had to flee to Ba Sing Se to deal with some crime syndicate or whatever. Katara had tried her best to not seem disappointed, but it seemed like every other week Aang was being called away from her to go and do some task, and it seemed like the importance of these things were getting more and more minute. A good example was the month before, when Aang ran off for a half a week to save some guy's cactus stand from falling off a cliff after he'd got carried away with his airbending, and then nearly died in the process when the cabbage fell onto a pirate ship. By the time he'd got the cabbage's back they'd rotted, and Katara had just bought the old man some more. She knew it was stupid, but she was beginning to worry that Aang was running off just so he wouldn't have to see her.

Then she'd woken up and her mother's necklace had disappeared. She'd been had this strange dream about Aang, fully dressed in his day clothes, standing above her on their bed with his hand outstretched. The dream Aang had kissed Katara on the forehead and told her to go to sleep. Then Katara had woken up and absolute tore her bedroom apart, digging around for the necklace before tearing the guard outside a new one for letting someone get in and steal it. Sokka had to be the one to calm her down, insisting that the necklace would turn up and she should just enjoy her Birthday. It was only at this point that Katara realised it was her birthday. Somehow that hadn't made her feel better. 

Nevertheless she'd soldiered on, trying her best to ignore Gran Gran's suspicious looks at her neck which made Katara sick with guilt. Speaking of Gran Gran, she'd burnt the sea jerky. Katara tried her absolute best to smile through it, grimacing along with the other guests. It was only Toph who seemed to actually enjoy the food, gulping it down and then asking the rest of the table for there's. Then she'd vommited all over the table, and because she was the only waterbender at the table who wasn't an old man, Katara was the one who had to clean it up. Zuko had offered to help but Katara had just snapped at him, leading to even more guilty feelings.

Once the job had been done and Toph had apologised they all sat there, waiting for the awkwardness to just magically diffusd. It didn't. Ty Lee finally spoke, putting on a fake smile. "So Sokka, Zuko, how's the wedding planning going?"

"Oh, it's going great, thanks. We've got a date and a location, we think, it's now just figuring out all the kinks and whatnot." Sokka smiled, snatching Zuko's hand and grinning.

"I can't wait!" Ty Lee smiled, clasping her hands together. 

"Yeah, well it would be going a lot quicker if Mr Grumpy-foo here gave in a bit." Sokka noted, raising his eyebrows at Zuko, who was fiddling with the charm on his red betrothal necklace. 

"Sokka we've talked about this!" Zuko hissed. "You are not throwing the ring down the aisle at me on your boomerang!"

The whole table erupted into laughter, even Gran Gran and Mai cracking a small smile. The only person who resisted was Pakku, who had an uncomfortable expression set on his face, his jaw clench and his eyes flicking back and forth between Sokka and Zuko. Iroh noticed Katara looking pointedly at him and spoke up, cutting through the laughter in a jolly voice. "Why the face master Pakku? Did you have too much of the seal jerky and make yourself ill?"

Toph poked her tongue out at the old man. 

Pakku shifted uncomfortably in his seat, adjusting his collar. "No. I'm fine."

"Really?" Uncle Iroh questioned. "It is like I always say: an uncomfortable thought is like a bad cup of tea, better out than in, or you shall get a nasty stomach ache." Katara was sort of marvelled at Iroh's surprisingly understandable and somewhat crude advice, but then realised he'd been steadily consuming more cactus juice than an elderly man should be having throughout the night, even if this elderly man could breathe fire and shoot lightening from his fingertips. 

"Well I was just surprised to hear of the two boys getting married. Back in my day if any people of the same gender were to like each other romantically they would do the right thing and keep it to themselves." 

Katara clenched her fists. "Pakku, you better not be getting at what I think you are." 

"It's just the truth." Pakku replied. Nearly everyone at the table gasped, with Gran Gran shooting Pakku a look which read if you still want a wife at the end of tonight you should shut it. Pakku did not take this advice and continued. "Your brother and the Firelord can do whatever they want behind closed doors, but they shouldn't have to shove it in my face."

Katara could feel the rage bubbling up in her veins, and tried to push it down. Zuko could see what was happening and spoke up just before Katara could butt in. "Katara, it's okay, he's-"

"It's not okay!" She raged. "Pakku doesn't get to come into my house, on my birthday, and be rude to my brother and my friend! He can be however homophobic he wants to be behind closed doors, but he shouldn't have to shove it in my face!" 

The table watched on in fear at the waterbending master, somebody (Haru probably, who had seem ridiculously out of place in this whole situation) murmured something along the lines of please don't make her angry. Katara could barely make his words out, the blood rushing too loudly in her ears. 

"Sure, I might be homophobic! But men shouldn't be like that!"

Bumi giggled from across the table. "That's not the opinion you had that night on Kyoshi island," and then winked, his smiling mouth showing his few teeth. 

At that point the table erupted into chaos. Sokka was looking at Bumi and fake wretching, telling Zuko to burn the memory of that sentence from his mind. Zuko looked like he was considering it. Pakku and Bumi were yelling at each other from across the wood, Gran Gran's face growing sourer with each and every word. Katara could hear other snippets of conversation bursting from the chaos, voices furiously competing to be heard.

"You loved it Pakku, admit it!"

"It was a mistake, just like letting you in to the white lotus!"

"Oh, hotman, I invented that damn club!"

"What does homiephobic mean?"

"He doesn't have any friends."

"Don't listen to Toph. Homephobic means doesn't like houses. Commitment issues and tax evasion."

"Don't listen to Sokka. It means he doesn't like gay people."

"Suki put the fan away!"

"Put the knives down first, Princess."

"Can't we all just be friends?"

Iroh quite happily sipped some tea he'd somehow smuggled to the dinner table.

"ENOUGH!" Katara thundered, sending a bowl full of broth she couldn't bring herself to eat hurtling down the table and into Pakku's face, knocking him backwards off the chair. 

"What just happened?" Toph leaned over to Sokka.

"Katara created broth bending and knocked Pakku off his chair."

"Wicked."

Katara stormed over to Pakku, her face etched in a deep scowl. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU, PAKKU. YOU COULDN'T HAVE KEPT YOUR OUT OF TOUCH OPINIONS TO YOURSELF FOR ONE NIGHT SO YOUR WIFE'S GRANDDAUGHTER COULD CELEBRATE HER ALREADY TERRIBLE BIRTHDAY?!"

Pakku began to flounder, edging towards the exit. Katara sighed, trying to compose her breathing. "I'm sorry, Gran Gran, but I think Pakku should leave. You are more than welcome to stay." 

With that Katara fled the room, avoiding the eye contact of her friends and family, heading onto a balcony a few rooms over. She hated getting out of control in front of everyone she knew, even if she had a perfectly good reason to. Katara had never been the most humble person, so admitting than an ugly emotion like anger could get her so riled up was embarrassing. At the time it seemed like knocking Pakku over and telling him to leave would be cathartic, but instead it was just humiliating and mean. She was supposed to be a healer, for spirit's sake!

She so missed Aang.

The balcony that Katara stood on was joined to the living area of the house, a medium sized building which was the first of a few houses that had been created to rebuild the southern water tribe. Katara tended to stay in a lot of places, going around and healing people and helping Aang, but this place usually felt like home. It didn't without Aang. Katara stepped round a large box someone had just left out on the balcony and huffed, staring out into the icy wilderness, grumbling. Yet another thing to get in the way. She couldn't even strop on her birthday without having to avoid a strangely placed box. The icy slopes of the southern pole stretched for miles and miles, the ice being blown about looking like tiny moving stars. Even the penguins were hiding somewhere in this weather, leaving Katara utterly and incomparably alone.

She missed Aang. She missed his humour and his warmth. His ability to calm a hostile situation and his dumb practical jokes, his goofy laugh and his talent to tame any animal he could come across. She missed stealing his cloaks and robes and using them to keep warm on a cold night like this, like the year before, when Aang and Katara had gone on a special trip on Appa to the North Pole to see the Northern Lights. It had been the most magical night, watching the lights shift and change colour, melting across the sky in greens and blues. Katara nearly shed a tear of happiness at the memory, but it was replaced by a flurry of cold tears at the reminder of just how alone Katara felt, without even her mother's necklace to hold as a comfort.

Lashing out, Katara screamed into the snowy void and turned, channeling all her force and kicking the box, knocking it onto its side with a loud crash. "Oww." The box winged in an almost recognisable voice. 

"Grow up!" Katara shouted, before double taking. The box shouldn't have been able to speak. 

"I would grow up, but then I'd pop the lid off and everything would be ruined." The box replied, and Katara definitely recognised the voice this time.

"Aang?"

"Uhh... No. I'm Mr Box." Aang had put on a pretentious voice but it was definitely him, and if Katara was listening properly she was pretty sure she could hear Momo chirping away from inside too. 

"Really, Mr Box? What's your full name?"

"First name... Boxy. Middle name: Boxman? Surname: Box."

Katara felt herself properly laugh for the first time all day, giggling like she was a fourteen year old again. "Well, Boxy Boxman Box, can you tell me what you're doing just sat on a balcony?"

"Well I was just sitting here, minding my own boxy business when suddenly a beautiful young lady came and kicked me over, very offensive by the way. And I can't move my arms so I can't get the lid off."

Katara beamed, yanking the handle at the top of the box and barely letting Aang spill out the top before she leant down and kissed him, effectively pinning her smiling boyfriend to the ground. "Katara I love you, I really do, but I do also need to stretch." Katara blushed and nodded, letting Aang and Momo escape and stand before tackling Aang into a hug, her eyes brimming with tears. Aang lifted Katara's chin up with a gentle hand, looking deep into her eyes. "Katara, what's up?"

"I just missed you, that's all. Today's been an absolute nightmare and all I've wanted was to see you."

Aang smiled, clutching Katara's hands as tight as possible. "I missed you so much too. It was so difficult being away from you today, it's been painful. Nearly as painful as all this cramp I've been having." 

Katara chuckled and Aang leant down, pulling Katara into another kiss, the world shutting down around them as they reunited, the cold and the loneliness melting away.

Momo chirped.

"I missed you too, Momo." Katara said, absentmindedly putting out a hand to stroke the lemur monkey. She properly turned to look at him and gasped, seeing a blue necklace wrapped around his neck, a familiar emblem dangling off the front. However the necklace had been altered, tiny little loopies hanging off it which all balanced their own charms on them - a mixture of the emblem of Katara's family and tribe, and the swirling lines of the air and water symbols. "Aang... Why does Momo have my mother's betrothal necklace?"

"Well I was in the box and I didn't want to drop it because it was dark, so I put it on Momo for safe keeping." 

"Okay," Katara said, her heart beginning to thump loudly and her stomach beginning to gurgle. "Why did you have my mother's betrothal necklace?"

"Well I mean it is her's, but it's also your betrothal necklace." 

"Aang?" Katara wondered, her palms beginning to sweat and slip over each other as she writhed her hands together nervously. Aang slipped the necklace over Momo's neck, and knelt down on one knee. Katara thought she was about to faint.

"Katara, I have loved you from the moment you pulled me out of that iceberg, and I will love you until the day I die. You are literally the reason I'm here today, the reason we we're all here today, and I was wondering... Would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?" 

Katara felt like her stomach was dropping out of her body, her eyes widening to look at the airbender. Aang's eyes were bright with hope, his smile still with that edge of cheekiness that Katara had found herself attracted to all those years ago. She took the necklace from Aang's hands, running the velvety material and the smooth charms over with her fingers, before slipping the necklace around her neck with a smile. Aang seemed puzzled by this.

"Is that-"

"Yes! It's a yes! I love you!" 

Aang cheered, swooping Katara into a hug and lifting her off the ground. He pulled her into a kiss and Katara felt her heart swell with love, her eyes beginning to swell with tears. Aang seemed to be crying as well, wiping his eyes with the edge of his robes. They were stood there, taking in the happiness, when Sokka's voice echoed from behind Katara. "Hey Katara I just came to check on-" the pair turned to face Sokka and the older sibling stopped, trying to act natural and lean on something, nearly falling over in the process. "Oh hey Aang, didn't think you'd make it tonight, with-"

"It's okay Sokka. She knows."

"I don't actually. What was supposed to be happening?"

"I've been gone quite a bit recently, not because I necessarily wanted to but because I've been trying to make the charms for this necklace. Also, every time I saw you smile I got the urge to get down and propose right there and ruin the secret, but I had to somehow get your necklace."

"Aww sweetie, that's adorable." Katara cooed, clasping Aang's hand. 

"I did actually have to deal with that syndicate but I knew it would be easy to deal with them, so I might have lied and told you I'd be gone for ages so I could suprise you."

"You definitely did that."

"So I made the charms and I went to grab the necklace off you this morning, but you woke up and I was sure I was caught." Aang looked sheepish.

"She thought she was dreaming!" Sokka laughed, shaking his head.

Aang kissed Katara's cheek. "Then I spent the morning assembling the necklace, and then I hid in this box with Momo for about two hours, waiting for Sokka to give me the magic word so I could pop out and give you the necklace."

Katara stopped, grabbing Aang and kissing him deeply. When she stopped he looked kind of dazed, still overcome with glee. "I love it Aang, it's beautiful. Thank you."

"Gross." Sokka muttered. "I'm going back to the party. I'll let everyone know what happened and we'll see you two love birds in a bit. I owe Toph 5 Yuans for losing a bet about both of you crying anyway."

The pair laughed, watching as Sokka disappeared back into the warmth. Katara looked out off the balcony. Across the ice she could almost see the glacier where she'd met Aang all those years ago. Looking at where they were then and where they were now, Katara could barely comprehend it. So much had changed, and still Aang was by her side, leaning into the heat. She clasped his hand. 

Aang spoke into the cold. "I have been meaning to ask. Why did you kick the box? Did someone upset you?"

Katara chuckled. That all felt so miniscule now. "It's a long story."


End file.
